The present invention relates to an apparatus for releasing a drive assembly from a driven shaft and connecting the same thereto, and more particularly to an apparatus of this type suited to small-sized rolling mills such as pipe mills in which working rolls are arranged with their axes inclined and intersecting each other.
Rolling mills incorporate an axially extensible drive assembly including a universal joint. Apparatus are known for releasing the coupling of such a drive assembly from the neck of a working roll and connecting the coupling thereto as proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Disclosure No. 4767/1966. The proposed apparatus includes a gear-type coupling connecting the roll neck to the spindle and having a boss (intermediate shaft) joined to the spindle and supported by a bearing at all times. The bearing is rotatably and vertically slidably mounted on upright posts on a frame which is equipped with a support for supporting the outer tube of the coupling. The outer tube on the support is vertically shiftable for adjustment, and the spindle is rotatable. The other boss of the coupling joined to the roll neck is releasable from and connectable to the roll neck by the axial movement of the frame.
However, because the overall frame is adapted to be moved axially of the working roll, the apparatus is large-sized in its entirety and is disadvantageous to use in pipe mills and like small-sized rolling mills in view of maintenance, adjustment and costs. Moreover, since a pair of support means are provided on a single frame for bringing couplings into or out of engagement with a pair of working rolls substantially at the same time, the apparatus is not applicable to pipe mills in which the working rolls are arranged with their axes inclined and intersecting each other.